THE TURIN HORSE - Unsavory Impurities

THE TURIN HORSE: Italian noise-rockers embrace prog and psych on new album "Unsavory Impurities"; new track streaming now

Italy's The Turin Horse announce the March 24th release of new album Unsavory Impurities. The album will be released on the legendary Reptilian Records in the US and Italian label Invisible Order in Europe.

Stream the first single, "Blissed Out," here: https://soundcloud.com/reptilian-records/blissed-out/s-bIesGDbwVrm

Pre-order the album, here (US): http://www.reptilianrecords.com/products/739184

Pre-order the album, here (EU): https://invisibleorderrecords.bandcamp.com/album/unsavory-impurities

Named for the historic city in the north of Italy where they formed, The Turin Horse consists of guitarist/vocalist Enrico Tauraso, formerly of Dead Elephant, and drummer Alain Lapaglia, ex-MoRkObOt. With one untitled EP under their belts, Tauraso and Lapaglia come tearing out of the gate on Unsavory Impurities. Eyes wild and teeth gnashing, the two operate in a zone of pure abandon, bashing out caustic noise rock then dropkicking it into other dimensions. 

First single "Blissed Out" serves as a perfect introduction. Ear-scraping guitar tones carry a somber melody, as frenetic drumming and a whirr of psychedelia pull the song forward. Injecting freedom and chaos into a genre known for its austerity, The Turin Horse play with prog-level exuberance and lace their raw, blown-out songs with left-field sounds, including saxophone (courtesy of baritone sax player Alessandro Cartolari of Anatrofobia and Extrema Ratio) and an arsenal of samples: "Synths, classical music, field recordings, pocket fans, data-bending files, circuit-bent machines, vegetables, anything we deem useful for our purposes," states Tauraso.

The band's liberated approach to abrasive music brings to mind the maniacal sludge-punk of Karp, by way of the unchained experimentalism of Today Is The Day. Tauraso states: "If we had to make a list of influences I think it would be endless... Personally I would include Today Is The Day. I've been a fan for many years and have always enjoyed their uncompromising vision of music. I've always found it cathartic."

While honoring those who have inspired them, The Turin Horse really march to their own beat and no one else's. As Tauraso puts it, "The thing that has conditioned us the most is the need to try to express ourselves freely. We already have to mediate with society for a good part of our daily lives and we like to think that music is our hour of fresh air."

The band's singular sound is thanks in part to Tauraso's homemade rig: "We couldn't find a bass player and I chose to see this lack as a creative opportunity to customize my guitar sound by building a large part of my gear."

Unsavory Impurities was recorded and mixed by Massimiliano Moccia and Enrico Tauraso. It was mastered by Arik Victor at Creep Studio in Philadelphia. The cover art was created by Mow Skwoz.

Making their Reptilian Records debut with Unsavory Impurities, The Turin Horse join a stellar roster that has included Dwarves, KEN mode, Chat Pile, and many more.

Tracklist:
1) The Maximum Effort for the Minimum Result
2) Sixty Millions Blues
3) Regret Song
4) Blissed Out
5) Necessary Pain
6) Birds Sing a Death Song
7) The Light That Failed
8) Where the Seeds Can't Take Root
9) Hybris
10) Tear off the Stitches

Lineup:
Enrico Tauraso - vocals, guitar, synth
Alain Lapaglia - drums, samples
Alessandro Cartolari - baritone sax

Photo by Omar Tomaino

SQUID PISSER + Fangoria

"Ears will bleed, faces will melt. The squid people are here."

—Fangoria

Thrash Out With A First Look At SQUID PISSER's Music Video "Everlasting Bloat," via Fangoria, here.

SQUID PISSER eviscerates the ego and and all things serene with their own vibrant form of vicious and mucky hardcore.  Slamming down dolphin corpses at breakneck speeds, the duo, which is comprised of Tommy Meehan on guitar (Deaf Club, Cancer Christ, Sweatband Records, Cartoon Network) and Seth Carolina (Starcrawler), have constructed a fresh and mucousy new alien craft powered by tightly controlled noise-guitar, savage primal drum work, and gooped up vocal deliveries that might sound like a gaggle of frogs thrown into a garbage disposal (although the Squid boys wouldn't recommend doing this).

Conceptualized and formed in 2022, the band decided to fully utilize planet Earth's viral slumber in order to gestate, write, and record 2 full length albums worth of material. Throughout the year, SQUID PISSER played a handful of shows in California and Nevada as a 2 piece as they continued the quest for further personnel and collaborators. Tommy Meehan's tightly controlled noise-onslaught of rainbow vomit (spat out of a guitar amp via manic pedalboard wizardry and sophisticated finger work) paired with the utterly brutal, breakneck, and savage drumming of Seth Carolina, merge to create a collection of tracks that have been forged in a totally fucked and sonically chaotic storm of pus and goo. 

Their debut release, MY TADPOLE LEGION, is a mutated smorgasbord of songs and guest vocalists from projects like: MELT BANANA, NEKROGOBLIKON, CANCER CHRIST, PUNCH, THE LOCUST, WACKO, and more. Also featured prominently is John Clardy of TERA MELOS on drums for 3 of the songs. The album was picked up by Justin Pearson's THREE ONE G label and is being released in conjunction with Tommy's own SWEATBAND RECORDS (one of several collaborative releases the two have put out together over the last few years.)

My Tadpole Legion was mixed by Kurt Ballou (CONVERGE, GODCITY STUDIOS) and mastered by Alan Douches (West West Side Music). It will be released on limited edition vinyl (“tadpole blob” variant for Sweatband and “tadpole splatter on piss yellow” for Three One G) on April 14th. Preorder, here.

COMMON WOUNDS - "Hit or Miss"

COMMON WOUNDS: Phoenix vets marry post-hardcore heart and noise rock heft on self-titled debut EP; "Hit or Miss" music video streaming now

Stream the official music video for Common Wounds' new single, "Hit or Miss," here: https://www.invisibleoranges.com/common-wounds/

Pre-order the self-titled debut EP, out March 10th on Protagonist Music, here: https://protagonistmusic.bandcamp.com/album/self-titled-11

Hailing from Phoenix, Arizona, Common Wounds marries post-hardcore heart and noise-rock heft, in songs that are as poignant as they are bruising.

A new article at Invisible Oranges states: “Common Wounds are a new post-hardcore band out of Phoenix, AZ, but its members come from bands like Landmine Marathon, Run with the Hunted, and more. That said, Common Wounds doesn't so much pull from these past enterprises as it draws inspiration from bands like Rites of Spring, Fugazi, and even Helmet. Their upcoming self-titled five-track EP does an excellent job of creating a sound that is heavy, jangly, and metallic without sacrificing their identity or their individuality.”

Guitarist/vocalist Ian Lanspeary first teamed up with bassist Matt Martinez in 2016 at a time when the two friends were both closing the books on other musical endeavors. As a member of Run with the Hunted, Lanspeary had risen to the top of the straightedge hardcore scene; as a member of Landmine Marathon, Martinez had earned the cover of Revolver Magazine, been handpicked by Metallica to play Orion Fest, and toured the nation with the likes of Skeletonwitch and Misery Index. With the dust still settling on those chapters, Lanspeary and Martinez joined forces.

Martinez states: "We found ourselves coming into sounds that were rooted in post-hardcore and early emotional hardcore... filtered through the ultra low tunings that my instruments were already set up for."

The Common Wounds EP was recorded and mixed by Zachary Rippy (Power Trip, Wristmeetrazor) at Sound Signal Recording Studios in Mesa, AZ and mastered by Nick Zampiello (Torche, KEN mode) at New Alliance East.

More info: https://thechainworld.blogspot.com/2023/02/common-wounds.html

Photo by Kindness Photo Co

KING YOSEF - An Underlying Hum

KING YOSEF: prolific producer (Youth Code, XXXTentacion) dives deep into childhood traumas on new Kurt Ballou-recorded solo album "An Underlying Hum"; teaser video streaming now; US tour with Black Magnet kicks off in March

King Yosef announces the release of his new full-length album, An Underlying Hum, out April 28th on his own Bleakhouse label.

Stream an official teaser video, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCBRnw4IHsg

With a formidable catalog of music already under his belt, including collabs with Youth Code and some of the most hyped hip-hop artists of the past decade, the Portland, Oregon-based 25-year-old has been described by Revolver Magazine with these words: "Though he's produced songs for Billboard Hot 100-charting rap artists like the late XXXTentacion and Ski Mask the Slump God, Yosef animates the lo-fi, blown-out brood-scuzz of SoundCloud rap with the vein-popping screams of hardcore and the mechanical noise of industrial."

Recorded and mixed by Converge's Kurt Ballou at GodCity, Yosef's new solo album, An Underlying Hum, is a giant step forward for this prolific artist. A series of seething bangers, laced with ominous melodies and descents into ambient realms, the songs penetrate deep and haunt the skull for days. Impactful from start to finish – from metallic hardcore anthems bouncing with hip-hop swagger, to storms of industrial noise, to ghostly interludes – the album utilizes live instruments, electronic elements, and Yosef's voice to tell its story.

More than a collection of great songs, An Underlying Hum is a deep dive into a broken psyche – a concept album born out of Yosef's quest for self-knowledge. "Five years ago, I was 19, 20, just writing music, just having a good time," he says. "Expressing myself but not necessarily knowing what for. People would ask me what I write about and I kind of came up blank. And it sent me on this whole trajectory, to revisit all these bad things and dive into every single section of it and come out the other side better for it. So, that’s basically what this album started as."

He elaborates: "You grow up in certain environments or certain families that are dysfunctional and it’s generationally dysfunctional. The whole album is like, 'how much of that is in me?' 'How much of this is a decision and how much of this is in my blood?' I went through a process of diving in so deep, it’s bizarre to even look back at it now. All the bad memories and situations of growing from youth to adult. I put the memories into a song. All these things that were stuck in me, they no longer have power over me."

The result is an album that pulls the listener into the depths and absolutely crushes with music that will resonate equally amongst fans of Death Grips, Code Orange, or Nine Inch Nails. An Underlying Hum is a document of this tremendous young talent looking inward and taking control of his own narrative, as an artist and a human.

In addition to Ballou's engineering and mixing, vocal production was handled by Steve Evetts (Deadguy, Sepultura) and the album was mastered by Alan Douches (Chelsea Wolfe, Xiu Xiu).

Stay tuned for the album's first single and music video, dropping soon.

A US tour with Black Magnet begins March 1st:

March 1 - St. Louis, MO @ The Sinkhole
March 2 - Chicago, IL @ Reggies
March 3 - Louisville, KY - Mag Bar
March 4 - Indianapolis, IN @ Black Circle Brewing
March 5 - Cleveland, OH @ No Class
March 7 - Providence, RI @ Dusk
March 8 - Northampton, MA @ Red Kross
March 9 - Brooklyn, NY @ Saint Vitus Bar
March 10 - Boston, MA @ O'Brien’s Pub
March 11 - Philadelphia, PA @ Ortlieb’s
March 12 - Richmond, VA @ Fallout
March 14 - Atlanta, GA @ Boggs
March 15 - New Orleans, LA @ The Goat
March 16 - Houston, TX @ The End
March 17 - San Antonio, TX @ Paper Tiger
March 18 - Austin, TX @ Club Eternal
March 19 - Dallas, TX @ Division Brewing

An Underlying Hum tracklist:

1) Frame
2) Cascade of Doubt
3) Echo
4) Power
5) Nameless
6) 110817
7) Drift Below
8) Adrienne
9) Pulling at a Thread
10) The Crevice / Light Seeps In
11) An Underlying Hum

Photo of King Yosef, by Harper King

Cover art, by King Yosef

TUNIC - Wrong Dream

TUNIC: Winnipeg noise-punks evolve into glorious songwriters on new Artoffact Records album "Wrong Dream"; official music video for first single "Whispering" now streaming

Artoffact Records announces the April 28th release of Wrong Dream, the third album by Tunic.

Stream the official music video for first single "Whispering," here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSvjyrhLgfE

Pre-order the album, here: https://tunicband.bandcamp.com/album/wrong-dream

A 2021 review from Decibel Magazine described Tunic's sophomore effort, Quitter, as "hurtling forward, AmRep style." Of that same album, Invisible Oranges stated, "everything sounds like it’s teetering on the edge of collapse." Indeed, Quitter was a herky-jerky assault of pummeling drums, distorted bass, discordant guitar, and wild-eyed vocals that put the Winnipeg band on the map, somewhere in the noise-punk territory between Amphetamine Reptile and Three One G. Angular and acidic, Tunic kept the listener at arm's length, yet guitarist David Schellenberg screamed with an earnestness that felt like a plea for connection.

Recorded and mixed at Machines With Magnets by Seth Manchester (Metz, The Body, Liturgy, Lightning Bolt), Wrong Dream smashes the boundaries set by the previous work and represents a giant step toward that connection. The core elements of Tunic's anxiety-ridden sound are intact – Schellenberg's wits-end yowl and sour guitar notes, and drummer Dan Unger's austere, metronomic beats are in full force – but from within the din, glorious streams of light pierce through. Wrong Dream is Tunic's greatest and most engaging work to date. The band's tangle of dissonance and angst is laced with heart-swelling moments of melody and demons laid bare, making for songs that cut deeper than what came before.

“The biggest breakthroughs came from me trying to break out of my shell,” says Schellenberg. “It’s an evolution in songwriting that really shows our versatility in a way we haven't done yet.” 

One aspect of this evolution was Schellenberg's use of bass and keyboards, not only guitars, in the writing process. As a result, Wrong Dream is powered by a steady current of bass lines coursing prominently through its nine songs, at times evoking the vibes of early post-punks like Gang of Four and Public Image Ltd., and the album is peppered with odd new instrumentation that adds thrilling dimensions – the industrial clanking on "My Body, My Mind," for example.

The perspective shift of the new writing method has resulted in some of the most impactful and memorable music of Tunic's career. Wrong Dream's first single "Whispering" is an uptempo basher, driven by spirited guitar and bass tracks that gel into something downright anthemic. "Indirect" is a moody, drum machine-bolstered nugget that rocks like a lost Joy Division hit. The album's closer, "Empty Husk," crushes at a glacial pace, crowned by the pensive twang of Schellenberg's guitar and some of his rawest, most revealing, most unsettling lyrics: "I was fifteen when he wrapped his hands around my neck and started to push / I've reached that point I was afraid of."

Wrong Dream is teeming with vulnerable lyrics of this nature and this is another facet of the album's great power. Songs illustrate various forms of trauma, from abuse to tumultuous relationships to the deaths of friends, but Schellenberg explains that it is essentially an album about cause and effect – a meditation on the consequences of choices made, and how one's life can so easily spiral in one direction or the other. “The concept of the record is, are we pursuing the right dream or the wrong dream," as he puts it.

Adventurous and painfully honest, Wrong Dream is the sound of a band having the courage to fulfill its potential. While still rife with sounds that will perk the ears of old Tunic fans, and most AmRep or Three One G devotees, Wrong Dream sees Tunic assume an accessible new form – something closer in spirit to Fugazi than to anything that can be neatly boxed as "noise-punk" or another such genre. 

Tunic will be touring North America throughout 2023; stand by for news.

Tracklist:
1) Sounds Repeat
2) Punishment Enough
3) Disease
4) My Body, My Blood
5) Protected
6) Whispering
7) Indirect
8) Under Glass
9) Empty Husk

Lineup:
David Schellenberg - guitar, vocals
Drew Riekman - bass, guitar, vocals, keyboards
Dan Unger - drums

Photo by Adam Kelly

KNOW//SUFFER - Winter Two Piece

KNOW//SUFFER: El Paso metallic hardcore crew drops "Winter Two Piece" EP via Silent Pendulum Records

Amidst upcoming new releases by Glass Casket and more, Silent Pendulum Records announces the surprise drop of Winter Two Piece, the new 2-song EP by El Paso's metallic hardcore phenom, Know//Suffer.

Stream Winter Two Piece, here: https://silentpendulumrecords.bandcamp.com/album/winter-two-piece

Buy merch, here: https://silentpendulumrecords.com/collections/spr-merch

The West Texas quintet's previous EP, The Great Dying, was released on Silent Pendulum in 2021, showcasing a dark strain of death metal-infused hardcore, thick with shifty rhythms, nasty pick scrapes, and double-bass flurries. At the helm, frontman Toast Williams bucked all expectations of the genre with a vocal approach that was earnest and yearning and rife with poetic lyrics navigating personal and political struggles. Know//Suffer's mix of these two opposing elements – mosh pit terror meets heart-on-sleeve vulnerability – set the band apart from the hordes, as if the brute force of Code Orange and the emotional depth of Burn were united under one Texan roof.

The Quietus likened Know//Suffer to "Xibalba with Meshuggah’s guitar tone” and The Pit praised the mix of "Gojira guitar dynamics and old-school hardcore unpredictability."

Almost two years later, the band surfaces with Winter Two Piece, consisting of two absolutely blazing, anthemic new tracks that pick right up where The Great Dying left off.

"A lot of life has happened in the past year," states Williams. "We lost some family members and such. I cover a bunch of different topics in the lyrics: survivor's remorse, having to deal with fake people in day-to-day life, and other mental struggles."

"These songs were fun to write," states drummer Jay James. "We wanted to take off the gloves a bit and swing at folks. Mostly we are just trying to induce some feelings through our music."

Winter Two Piece was recorded at xBCx studios by Hector Meza and mixed and mastered by Kevin Antreassian at Backroom Studios. The cover art was created by Taylor Bates.

Know//Suffer is at work now on a new full-length album. "Keep spreading the Suffer gospel," says Williams, when asked about the band's plans for 2023.

Tracklist
1) Iron Sharpens Iron
2) Abrasive

Lineup:
Toast Williams - vocals
Eric Vasquez - guitar
Jerry Griffin - guitar
Larry Gonzales - bass
Jay James - drums

Discography:
Summer Two Piece, 2017, self-released
Know//Suffer, 2019, self-released
The Great Dying, 2021, Silent Pendulum Records
Winter Two Piece, 2023, Silent Pendulum Records

Photo of Know//Suffer, by V. Bencomo

CONTRACULT - "Drown" video

CONTRACULT frontman Travis Bacon gets waterboarded in new "Drown" music video, directed by Vicente Cordero (Cradle of Filth, 3TEETH)

LA industrial-metal powerhouse Contracult has released the official music video for its single "Drown." The video was directed by Vicente Cordero, creator of videos for Cradle of Filth, Black Veil Brides, 3TEETH, Suicide Silence, and more.

Stream the "Drown" video, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dc-YniBEtpY

The NSFW clip shows Contracult frontman Svart, a.k.a. Travis Bacon, getting waterboarded by bandmate Bx. He states: "The waterboarding represents the pressure and burdens we consume ourselves with in this life. I always try to push the extremities in my videos, especially when it comes to myself. I feel like there's a lot of band videos with extreme content, but rarely do you see the band members experiencing them. If I want to see something in my video, I’ll put myself through the pain and vulnerability to make it happen. But I’m a bit masochistic, so I end up having fun regardless."

"Drown" appears on Contracult's new album, The New Torment, released in late 2022.

Having parted ways with Roadrunner Records, the band comes into its own on The New Torment – a dense mix of pedal-to-the-metal beats, thick-as-tar riffs, head-spinning electronic elements, and soaring vocal hooks, for fans of Nine Inch Nails, KMFDM, 3TEETH, and Ghostemane. The album features a guest appearance by the legendary Attila Csihar (Mayhem). 

Stream the album and buy it, here: https://contracultcollective.bandcamp.com/album/the-new-torment-2

"Ferociously heavy industrial-metal... It's electrifying as hell."
–Revolver

"If you're in the mood for some glitchy, driving industrial then Contracult have you covered... The New Torment vacillates between oddly catchy hard rock and absolute digital mayhem. "
–Metal Injection

"LA-based industrial-metal. RIYL: Nine Inch Nails, KMFDM, Fear Factory, Ghostemane."
–New Noise

Photo by Steven Anthony Roe

TURBID NORTH - "Slaves" drum video

TURBID NORTH releases scorching "Slaves" drum playthrough

Texas trio Turbid North has released a new video showing drummer Jono Garrett playing "Slaves," a song off the band's new album, The Decline.

Stream the video, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUZ9fqFQIoQ

Equally ferocious as a blaster and a groover, Garrett's prowess is on full display as he powers through the song. In addition to Turbid North, Garrett beats the skins for hard rockers Mos Generator and grinders Shock Withdrawal.

One of the first crucial metal releases of 2023, The Decline melds punishing death-grind with crushing doom-rock and lustrous melody. Decibel Magazine calls the new album, "the meeting point between Black Sabbath and Napalm Death" and Metal Injection hails it as "Mastodon if they were in a John Wick state of revenge rage."

Speaking on the song, "Slaves," frontman Nick Forkel has stated: "'Slaves' is about being a prisoner of your own mind. We all create battles in our heads."

With The Decline released in January to mass acclaim, Turbid North will embark on a European tour with Unearth and Misery Index in April.

April 1 - Dortmund, DE @ Junkyard
April 2 - Antwerp, BE @ Trix
April 3 - Munchen, DE @ Backstage
April 4 - Freiburg, DE @ Crash
April 5 - Eindhoven, NL @ Dynamo
April 6 - Sheffield, UK @ Corporation
April 7 - Leeds, UK @ The Warehouse
April 8 - London, UK @ Islington Assembly Hall
April 9 - Lille, FR @ The Black Lab
April 10 - Paris, FR @ La Machine Du Moulin Rouge
April 11 - Stuttgart, DE @ Im Wizemann
April 12 - Weinheim, DE @ Cafe Central
April 13 - Cottbus, DE @ Gladhouse
April 14 - Leer, DE @ Zollhaus
April 15 - Chemnitz, DE @ AJZ Chemnitz
April 16 - Ostrava, CZ @ Barrak Music Club
April 17 - Berlin, DE @ SO36
April 18 - Hamburg, DE @ Bahnhof Pauli
April 19 - Copenhagen, DK @ Pumpehuset
April 20 - Gothenburg, SE @ Musikens Hus
April 21 - Stockholm, SE @ Slaktkyrkan

More info: https://thechainworld.blogspot.com/2023/01/out-today-turbid-north-decline.html

COMMON WOUNDS

COMMON WOUNDS: Phoenix post-hardcore crew (ex-Run with the Hunted, Landmine Marathon) delivers self-titled debut EP; new music video streaming now

Common Wounds announces the release of its self-titled debut EP, out March 10th on Protagonist Music.

Hailing from Phoenix, Arizona, Common Wounds marries post-hardcore heart and noise-rock heft, in songs that are as poignant as they are bruising. 

Stream the official music video for the EP's first single, "Phantom Limb," here: https://www.decibelmagazine.com/2023/02/06/video-premiere-common-wounds-phantom-limb/

Pre-order the EP, here: https://protagonistmusic.bandcamp.com/album/self-titled-11

Guitarist/vocalist Ian Lanspeary first teamed up with bassist Matt Martinez in 2016 at a time when the two friends were both closing the books on other musical endeavors. As a member of Run with the Hunted, Lanspeary had risen to the top of the straightedge hardcore scene, with Timm McIntosh of the legendary Trial releasing the band's albums on his label and hailing it as "the greatest band I've had the pleasure of working with." As a member of Landmine Marathon, Martinez had endured a dizzying run – in the span of a few years the quintet went from underground obscurity to next-big-thing status, earning the cover of Revolver Magazine, getting handpicked by Metallica to play Orion Fest, and touring the nation with the likes of Skeletonwitch and Misery Index. With the dust still settling on those chapters, Lanspeary and Martinez joined forces; seeking a new sound and a new pace, they began work together under the name Dead History.

Martinez states: "Dead History was formed in early 2016 by myself and Ian. We formed the band as both of our previous bands had wound down after exhausting and fulfilling lifespans. We found ourselves coming into sounds that were rooted in post-hardcore and early emotional hardcore... filtered through the ultra low tunings that my instruments were already set up for."

Fueled by the classic recordings of labels like Dischord and Ebullition, as well as Amphetamine Reptile and Touch and Go, Dead History released one self-titled EP and played shows with peers such as Portrayal of Guilt right up until March 2020.

Emerging from the fog of the pandemic, Lanspeary and Martinez are back, having reset, recharged, and rechristened themselves as Common Wounds. Picking up where Dead History left off, and now featuring guitarist Corey Rial (Seas Will Rise) and drummer Steven Campbell (War Tongue, Bog Oak) in its ranks, Common Wounds comes forth with five songs, possessed by the fire of the original post-hardcore greats and bolstered by the muscle of noise-rock. Reference points might include Rites of Spring, Unwound, and Helmet.

A lifelong resident of Phoenix, Martinez speaks on that city's impact upon Common Wounds' sound: "Phoenix has always influenced creativity, with this band and every creative endeavor that I have been involved in. There's the desolation of the desert – the brown and hazy texture of the landscape creates a dismal tone. The heat tends to elevate tension all around. I think this lends itself to the abundance of 'pissed off' bands that have come from Arizona. Furthermore, we suffer from a literal physical disconnection from other cities. San Diego, LA, and Vegas, the closest cities, are a journey. And within our city, sprawl, masked as progress, creates a homogenization and lack of culture that causes creative people to lash out, in the best way. There are a lot of young kids working hard to make things happen here. A new generation, driving things their way. We adapt and thrive in the desert. Much like the wildlife. We are tough and resilient."

"Phantom Limb," the self-titled debut EP's first single, hits like a sweet deluge of rain, breaking the tension of darkening desert skies. Emotive and urgent, the song surges forward with a thunderous rhythm section carrying a churning riff, brightened by feedback and harmonics that pierce like rays of light through the storm. Lanspeary's impassioned bellows are as real as they come; many vocalists tell stories or impart a worldview, but once in a while a recording captures a person in a genuine state of searching and it is a beautiful thing. "Lyrics function as an emotional outlet, with the purpose of addressing and exploring life," he says.

The Common Wounds EP was recorded and mixed by Zachary Rippy (Power Trip, Wristmeetrazor) at Sound Signal Recording Studios in Mesa, AZ and mastered by Nick Zampiello (Torche, KEN mode) at New Alliance East.

Releasing the EP is Arizona-based label Protagonist Music, home to recordings by Gatecreeper, Self Defense Family, and founder Brendan DeSmet's own band, metallic hardcore pioneers Groundwork.

Tracklist:
1) Lament
2) Hit or Miss
3) High/Low
4) No Exit
5) Phantom Limb

Lineup:
Ian Lanspeary - guitar, vocals
Corey Rial - guitar
Matt Martinez - bass
Steven Campbell - drums

Photo by Kindness Photo Co
Cover art by Matt Martinez

BODY STUFF - Body Stuff 4

BODY STUFF: Xiu Xiu's Jamie Stewart and pop icon Tiffany guest on NYC duo's debut full-length album, "Body Stuff 4"; first single "The Chains" streaming now

Body Stuff announces the June 2nd release of Body Stuff 4.

Following three EPs released in the past ten years, Body Stuff 4 is the New York City band's first full-length album.

Stream the album's first single, "The Chains," here: https://bodystuff.bandcamp.com/album/body-stuff-4

Body Stuff is the duo of vocalist/songwriter Curran Reynolds and producer Ryan Jones. Prior to launching the project in 2013, the two friends served together as the rhythm section for cult hero Steve Austin's band, Today Is The Day, playing on the Kurt Ballou-produced Pain Is A Warning album and touring the world in support of it. Even earlier still, they were both members of Wetnurse, the left-field metal outfit whose acclaimed vocalist, Gene Fowler, died of unknown causes last year.

Reynolds states: "After many years of playing in bands as a drummer, it was time to make something that was all mine. Body Stuff is my thing. I write all the music and words. But Ryan has been part of it from the very start. His style as an engineer, and the camaraderie that exists between the two of us, is part of what makes it what it is."

Across three EPs – Body Stuff (2013), Body Stuff 2 (2016), and Body Stuff 3 (2020) – a singular sound was established. Passionate vocals and wistful hooks, nodding to the songs that filled late-‘80s Top 40 charts, were bolstered by a bellicose drum machine and thick guitars conjuring industrial-metal power, while a ghostly fog blanketed the whole affair. 

A Metal Injection article in 2020 stated: "If Godflesh ever teamed up with Billy Idol, they'd still be trying to collect the formula that makes Body Stuff infectiously entertaining." A review in The Wire Magazine in that same year hailed the band's "doomed romanticism and synth-assisted stadium rock" and ultimately concluded: "It's hugely evocative stuff."

"With Body Stuff, I am reconnecting with the kid I was, growing up in towns in Maine and Kansas in the '80s and getting rocked by the songs on the radio," says Reynolds. "I am tapping into that innocence. I am not seeking to replicate something old, I am creating something new that electrifies me the way those songs did then."

While Body Stuff's roots can be traced to those distant times and places, the project is thoroughly caked in the grime of New York City. "I moved to NYC at 20 and I've been here ever since. Body Stuff is colored by decades of life in this city. The sounds, the smells. The euphorias, the disasters. Memories of the highest highs and lowest lows. The friends who died."

He continues: "I am shaped by the past, but this is music of the here and now. The intention is to channel my experiences into a universal message of love."

With Reynolds' songwriting at the heart of the project, he and Jones work closely together to track and mix the songs; Jones, also a live audio engineer for Grammy winners Portugal. The Man, owns and operates NYC recording studio Growlhouse, where Body Stuff 4 was realized. Live, Reynolds and Jones bring Body Stuff to the stage as a duo; they have performed on bills with Godflesh, Uniform, EU1OGY, Statiqbloom, Collapsing Scenery, Fotocrime, The Austerity Program, and more.

Recorded between 2020 and 2022, Body Stuff 4 sees Body Stuff reach its most fully fleshed-out state thus far. From the raw minimalism of the earlier work, the sound has progressed into a more ornate form while still retaining its rough edges and bleeding heart. 

Body Stuff 4's opening track and first single, "The Chains," is a swirling meditation that advances like an oncoming storm. Layers of metallic guitar, double-bass rolls, a synth that sounds like a harpsichord, and Reynolds' distinct voice, set a tone that is equally yearning and defiant.

"I was thinking about fathers and sons," says Reynolds. "It's a song about finding your way. Wanting to be part of something and wanting to be part of nothing."

Other highlights on the album include "Fame," featuring guest vocals by pop icon Tiffany – one of the very artists whose songs rocked the young Reynolds as a kid in the '80s – and a remix of Body Stuff 3's standout single, "New York in the Rain," created by Jamie Stewart, the visionary behind Xiu Xiu.

Body Stuff 4 was mastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege (Torche, Code Orange). The cover art was created by Curran Reynolds. The promo photos were shot by skateboard photographer Paul Roura, whose work has graced the cover of Thrasher Magazine.

The album will be released via The Chain, the multi-faceted company co-founded by Reynolds, Justin Pearson (Three One G Records) and Brandon Gallagher (Trace Amount).

Tracklist:
1) The Chains
2) Transmission
3) Body Stuff 4
4) Fame (feat. Tiffany)
5) S.O.S.
6) Champion Song
7) World Peace
8) New York in the Rain (Xiu Xiu remix)

Lineup:
Curran Reynolds - vocals
Ryan Jones - guitar, bass, programming

Guests:
Tiffany - vocals on "Fame"
Jamie Stewart (Xiu Xiu) - remix of "New York in the Rain"

Production:

Ryan Jones - engineering, mixing

Brad Boatright - mastering

Mark Alberici - vocal engineering for Tiffany

Artwork:

Curran Reynolds - cover art

Paul Roura - band photos

Discography:
Body Stuff (EP) - The Path Less Traveled Records, 2013
Body Stuff 2 (EP) - The Path Less Traveled Records, 2016
Body Stuff 3 (EP) - The Chain, 2020
Body Stuff 4 - The Chain, 2023

Upcoming shows:
April 19 - Brooklyn, NY @ Saint Vitus (w/ Djunah)